1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a system and method for setting media device inputs according to user preferences. In particular, the present invention maps radio station preferences to media device inputs based on user preferences and media device capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of media sources available to users. Radio stations, including both traditional and satellite radio stations, television stations, streaming media sources, and the like are becoming very popular and, in most geographic areas, users have a multitude of media sources from which to choose. Many users also have a variety of media devices available to them. In additional to traditional radios and televisions, users may choose to listen to music, or receive other forms of multimedia entertainment, on a variety of devices, including pervasive devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, portable computers, etc. Service companies, such as car rental agencies and hotels, frequently provide customers with devices, such as radios, on which to receive radio and other multimedia entertainment.
The increasing number of media sources, coupled with the number of devices available to receive the offered media entertainment, is sometimes difficult for the average user to manage. For example, a user may wish to listen to certain types of music while driving, and may program his favorite radio stations on his car radio. As time goes on, there may be new radio stations available that the user would also enjoy, but of which he is unaware. When the user drives his car to another city, he may try to find local radio stations that he prefers, but this may be difficult and time-consuming, especially if there are many radio stations available in a particular geographic area. Similarly, when a user rents a car, he may wish to program the car radio buttons to stations that he enjoys, but may find that it is time-consuming to find stations that he enjoys and actually program these stations into the car radio buttons.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for setting media device inputs according to user preferences.